January 2011 Blog Posts (31)

I've written in the past that 2010 was a tough year for our family. Bob's dad passed away on February 20 after a year long struggle with congestive heart failure. That was tough on the family. But nothing as tough as the death of Bob's youngest sister Jan, who passed away suddenly on January 21st at the age of 52.

Working through the arrangements and the grief and the details was overwhelming. But when I finally stopped and got still for awhile, I couldn't help but think…

“You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;

My GOD turns my darkness into light.”

                                                                                                                               -Psalm 18:28

Timeless eternity is GOD’s dimension where His spiritual laws keep perfect order.  When GOD filled the heavens and the earth and spoke into being all material entities, He separated each through ordered…

Ready For the Road Ahead

            My sister Diana and I took great delight in designing games for my youngest sister, Kim, when she was little.  One of our favorites was a birthday scavenger hunt where Kim had to figure out clues in order to discover the whereabouts of her presents.  Kim had a great deal of fun searching for those gifts and Diana and I took delight in watching her eyes light up when she figured out a clue and was rewarded with another…

Ready For the Road Ahead

            If you've been following the Daily Bible Readings on the back of our bulletin, you may have noticed that we are alternating between Old and New Testament books.  I know when I first began reading the Old Testament some books were easier to understand than others.  I was drawn to books like Genesis, Jonah and Ruth because they contained stories about people that I could relate to.  Books like Deuteronomy, Leviticus and…

I may be back from Israel but I'm not through chewing over things I heard, saw, and experienced while there. One of those was at an overlook on the south side of Jerusalem, facing the old city and the temple mount. Our guide, Gila, a extremely well-informed, Jew, shared that the Jews believe that it was at that spot on the overlook that Abraham left the donkeys behind and proceeded on foot to climb Mount Moriah with his son Isaac. If you're like me, you've read that passage a hundred times…

I am currently reading 1st Corinthians in the Message paraphrase of the Bible.  Reading chapter 10, this struck me for the first time, "They drank from the Rock, God's fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were.  And the Rock was Christ."

Now, that being the case, some things about the story of Moses striking the rock to provide water for the Israelites take on new meaning and significance.  The first time, Moses was commanded to strike the rock so water would…

         And Joshua said unto the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”  (Jos 3:5)

         A new generation of Israelites had been raised and was opposite the Jordan River, about to cross to Jericho. The command of ADONAI was, “Sanctify yourselves…” To enter into the Promise Land, ADONAI wants the people to make themselves ceremonially clean at the very least. The word in Hebrew for sanctify or consecrate is qadash, meaning to be holy and it…

“May the LORD show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he was often  a comfort to me and was not ashamed of my being in prison.  On the contrary, when he came to Rome, he diligently searched for me and found me.  May the LORD grant it to him to find mercy from ADONAI on that Day.  And you know very well how much he helped me in Ephesus. “(Eph 1:16-17)

                  At Paul’s first defense in Rome, everyone deserted him.  He was left totally alone.  The…

              Therefore be very careful how you live — not as unwise but as wise,

              taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

              For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding

              what the Lord's will is. (Eph 5:15-17) 

      Living on the alert means approaching life with eyes wide open to every opportunity and challenge.   The problem is, not…

"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:23-24

It's the first day of 2011 and a good time for me to…

Ready For the Road Ahead

            On July 5, 1994, my son Christopher and I attended "Game 44" of the World Cup.  Bulgaria was pitted against Mexico and the stadium was completely full.  Over 70, 000 fans gathered to witness the first game to go into overtime, and sudden death in order to determine the winner.  The atmosphere was amazingly electric and we were blessed to watch the shoot out in the front row!

            The World Cup,…

We flew back from Tel Aviv on Saturday. I got to my house about 2 pm, took a shower, and was asleep on the sofa in front of the Saints/Sea Hawks game by 3 pm. Believe it or not, I slept until 3 am and then dozed most of Sunday and even slept about 10 hours Sunday night. I knew I was tired, but that was incredible.

I've traveled to Israel before (this was my fifth trip), and I've been blessed enough to have at least that many trips to Greece to visit the sites where Paul…

         “By faith we understand that the worlds were created at the spoken word of God, so that the  visible has its origin in the invisible.”  (Heb…

“Ifpeople want to boast, they should boast about this:

      They should boast that they understand andknow…

We spent the first night in Israel south of Beersheva and then went north to Galilee for four nights. I love Galilee, both the sea and the area. It's beautiful, it's peaceful, and it's full of amazing spots when Jesus ministered - the place where He preached on the beatitudes, the town of Capernaum where He lived and preached at the synagogue there, Caesarea Philippi where Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, the place traditionally held where Jesus spent time with Peter after His…

Well, this new year has begun with resigning from our pastorate and seeking God for the next place He wants us to concentrate in.  Seems like Disability Ministry has the biggest draw on us as well as ministering to the people of this city.

I have always enjoyed teaching and hope to continue in that way also.

So I hope to find other to glean from here and to give what I have to help you.

Ready For the Road Ahead

            About a year ago, thepublisher, Nan A. Talese and an author, James…